LED GROW LIGHT BUYING GUIDE

LED Grow lights are a relatively new technology. As such, it might not always be easy to spot the LED light that will work best for you. The acronym LED basically refers to Light Emitting Diode (a relatively small bulb). To produce enough amount of light needed for a given purpose, these diodes are used in different colors and in great numbers. The latest generation LED lights use the more efficient Chip on Board (COB) LED technology. Horticulturalists usually use LED lights for both professional and personal purposes.The LED COB modules and LED bulbs used in the LED industry are very efficient and have long lives. Available in many different colors, these lights provide a convenient and efficient alternative to natural light for the indoor plants. The lights are essential in accelerating plant growth and helping in the photosynthesis process.Whether you are replacing the older light system or you are just starting a grow project, you might be overwhelmed by the variety of choices that you will be confronted with when you buy your first LED grow light. While most LED lights are superior to the competing lights, there are few models that stand out from the rest thanks to their superior features and value. Below is a comprehensive guide to buying LED lights.

The Benefits of LED Grow LightsThere are a lot of benefits of using LED lamps as compared to any other type of light in the market. The benefits can only be seen when you compare with what other lights will produce in comparison to the greater LED Grow Lights. The main benefits of LED grow lights are:

Space Saving Designs: To start with, they’re regarded as space saving given that other types of lights require a lot of space in your room and at the same time they’ll need more equipment so as to aid them run smoothly.

Optimized Light Spectrum: The LED technology allows for a fine tuning of the light spectrum so as to produce the best light which plants require to develop all through their stages of growth.

Power and energy Efficient: The other benefit of this LED grow lights is that they’re also power efficient. They will save you lots of money by substantially reducing electricity bills.

Long Lasting: LED grow lights are also long lasting. These lights have the ability to serve you for more than 50,000 - 100,000 hours before they die out.

Beginner's Guide To Choosing An LED Grow LightsIf you’re new to the amazing world of LED grow lights, then you might be in a haze trying to find out how to pick the most practical LED light for your grow. The LED grow lighting technology is very different from the metal halide or the high pressure sodium setup in that the LED fixtures vary drastically in spectrum, heatload, power and shape. But fear not because this article will help in your LED grow light search thus saving you time, money, and guaranteeing you the highest quality crop. Here are the things that you need to ask yourself before deciding to buy LED grow light:

What Are You Growing?Before you choose an LED grow light, always consider the crop that you’re growing. All full-cycle and quality LED grow lights sold in the market will grow plants from seedlings to flowers. However, some lights are specially-designed for certain types of grows. For instance, the LED grow lights that are normally used to grow cannabis include (but not limited to) Amare, Apache Tech, Black Dog LED, California Lightworks, Illumitex, Kind LED, Cirrus LED, G8LED, Lighthouse Hydro, NextLight, Pro MAX Grow, Lush Lighting an Mars Hydro.

What Is The Size Of Your Grow Space?The size of your grow space shall dictate the number and size of an LED unit that you purchase. An effective rule-of-thumb for the LED grow lights is 32W of actual wattage per sq. ft. of growing space for flowering the high-light plants like cannabis. For instance, if you measured the growing space to be 16 sq. feet, you have to purchase a 500-550W grow light (assuming that the plants are congregated in a given area and you’re flowering cannabis. The vegetative growth for cannabis requires about half this wattage).

Low light plants like lettuces and herbs require about 11-18 watts/square foot of the grow space. However, this shall vary with crop and the preferred light levels.

Types Of LED Grow LightsBy now, you might be having an idea of the brand of LED grow lights that would be best suited for your crop and the number of watts that are required for the grow space. Now, you’ll discover the different types of LED unit options that are available to you.

If you’re growing marijuana from seedlings to flowers then you will want to buy a full cycle LED light. However, you might only need lights for blooming or vegging.

Lights designed for vegetable and cannabis growth/flowering have different options including the single channel lights; 2 channel lights with a bloom and veg mode; and programmable lights like California Lightworks, Kind LED, Cirrus LED, Lifted LED and Mars Hydro that will allow you to set the light schedules, alter intensities and customize spectrums. Programmable LED lights are by far the most advanced grow lights that will make for an effortless grow. It’s safe to conclude that the LED grow light industry is continuously moving in the direction of the fully automated panels.

Furthermore, there are many different shaped grow lights available, including bars, UFOs, bulbs and panels. There are even other LED tubes that will replace T8 or T5 fluorescent lights.​

Factors To Consider When Buying LED Grow LightsIf you are relatively new to indoor growing or you’re looking for a comprehensive buying guide on choosing the best LED grow lights, there are many important factors that you should consider when buying LED grow lights and this led grow light buying guide 101 will help you in making a better buying decision. Below are 5 points to observe as you evaluate LED lights.

Choose LED fixtures with an adjustable output spectrum. Given that LED arrays nowadays come with varying color LEDs, you require a solution that will allow you to manage light output spectrum based on seasons or your choice of plants. For instance, you can match those colors to flowering seasons or to summer time. By varying light output, you can always simulate the seasonal light changes so as to suit the growing circles of the plants.

Select LED fixtures with higher power cooling systems that work. High power LED fixtures require cooling, just like the computer CPUs. For this reason, you need a fan and a heat sink. Since LED fixtures don’t radiate any heat, they feature metal pad that provides a way for heat to leave the LEDs.

Look for fixtures which are mounted on the metal core printed circuit board (MCPCB). This is a space-grade technology for the electronics that operate at higher temperatures. The device is better as compared to the normal device circuit boards and you’ll need it for the higher levels of power that your LEDs lights use.

Make sure that your circuit board is mounted to a good-sized heat sink, preferably one that has several fins. With more fins, the circuit board will be able to spread the heat out faster so as to aid in faster cooling. This is very important to prevent the failures that are caused by single fins, leading to damages or overheating the LED fixture.

Consider the LED fixtures with constant current driver circuits. When buying LED grow lights consider the electronic current circuits that power your LED lights. The main role of electronic current circuit (driver circuit) is to convert the AC power to direct current in the proper current level and voltage that the LED lights can sustain. A good LED circuit driver should always supply a constant supply of DC and regulate the intensity based on temperature changes.